Bikes, Friends, and Adventures

When you think of the perfect vacation, what comes to mind? Do you think of a lavish beach vacation with a Piña Colada and delicious food brought to you beachside? Do you think of traveling the world and visiting tourist locations, staying in hotels, and site seeing? How about backpacking, hiking, peak bagging, and days without hot water? Golf anyone?

There are so many ways to spend our precious “down” time, and many of us feel that it’s extremely important to take a break from our busy lives. Everyone has their idea of what they consider a “break” from the day-to-day grind. People like us who are obsessed with bikes, bike lifestyle, and bike culture, often spend all of our vacations around bikes and even bring our bikes on non-bike related vacations. The beauty of this sport that we have grown to love so much is the ability to do it almost anywhere. You don’t even need good roads anymore to ride your bike in most places. With the recent cycling boom, entire communities cater to cyclists. For example, many towns in Vermont rely on cycling tourism to survive a shrinking ski season due to warmer winter temps and less snow accumulation.

While we have the opportunity to ride almost anywhere, some of us seek out places that have fantastic riding options and whose towns or cities cater to cyclists. A good bike shop at your vacation destination, when you’re far from home, is always a plus when planning a cycling vacation. When it comes to lodging, sometimes having a hot shower and clean sheets is a must. Other times camping “dirt bag” style is desired. And, sometimes a combination of both. Hotels, VRBO and AIRBNB are always an option. Places like Kingdom Trails in East Burke, Vermont, and Pisgah, North Carolina offer cycling-specific lodging. These cycling destinations often have accommodations geared towards storing and repairing bikes. If we feel like roughing it, there are thousands of places to camp close to great riding and campsites that have yurts, lean-tos, and spots to park an RV or trailer or pitch a tent next to your car. Campsites often offer firewood and showers, and some offer laundry for those muddy or wet rides. Many prefer to rough it, and the sport of bikepacking has become extremely popular as of late. With the advent of lighter-weight camping gear, you can now carry everything you need on your bike and travel from camping site to camping site with a well-planned route. The state of Pennsylvania has ripped out hundreds of miles of rail line and much of the state can be traversed by bike from trails on those abandoned lines, camping or indoor lodging along the way.

At the WORKSHOP, we pride ourselves in the statement on our webpage that states, “WE DO MORE THAN JUST SELL BIKES”. In our spare time, we ride them and find new adventures on our bikes. We encourage you to stop in and pick our brains next time you need a break and want to explore by bike. Ask for Danny, our most valuable resource for all adventures by bike. We’ve had so many adventures we can share with you and direct you to your next one. It’s time to take your bike vacation to the next level.